Lupin's Cubs
by SASandJRtheOver-Editors
Summary: Ceri wiped at the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Remus I have two sons." Remus looked away, growling under his breath. "Bryn is eleven, and with my mother right now. Ryddian is seventeen. Remus, he's yours." Remus stood, sending his chair careening to the floor and looked out the window, his jaw tightening furiously
1. Chapter 1

Ceri Morris hoisted her pup onto her back. "Hush, Bryn, we're almost there." She murmured, starting back on her path after her brief respite.

"But Ma, why we gotta go to a _human_ place?" He spat. Ceri sighed.

"I'm sorry Bryn, but I'm taking you somewhere you'll be safe from Alric. I don't care if it's human if it will keep my precious cub safe." She told him softly. In order to save her cubs, she would have to embrace the side she abandoned when Alric's pack had found her. She was going to her parents' home. Her _tame_ parents, Alun and Anwyll Morris.

She reached the town, and followed the familiar roads to a small house, worn yet welcoming, looking the same as it did seventeen years ago. She hesitated, but climbed the steps. She knocked on the door, and waited as it was opened. She shoved Bryn into her mother's arms, ignoring her surprised gasp. "Ceri, I missed you. Please, come in, get warm. I thought you were dead!"

"I've got to speak to Remus." She told Anwyll Morris. The elderly woman nodded sadly, looked at the boy in her arms, and then gave a small smile. She obviously thought Ceri was finally giving in to the mating bond. It wouldn't hurt to allow her mother a few moments of happiness, no matter how small. "Although, would it be alright if I cleaned up first?"

Anwyll's smile was bright as she ushered her daughter to the guest bathroom, and started the water. "I'll bring you some clothes." The warm water felt heavenly, and Ceri stayed in longer than she should have, before climbing out and changing into the clothes her mother had brought her. She tied her hair back, exposing her worn features, something she hadn't expected when she left. Life had been hard. She entered the kitchen and smiled at Bryn, cleaned up and sitting with a bowl of chicken soup. Ceri turned down the offered bowl, and started for the door.

"I need to see Remus, mother." She insisted.

"He lives in Maxwell and Noni's old home. They passed not long after you left." Anwyll sighed. Ceri felt a surge of grief for the Alphas of her old pack. Steeling herself, she nodded and walked out. The Lupin's home was four streets away, and beautiful. She sighed again, remembering the antics she'd gotten up to with Remus. She gazed nervously at the old Victorian house. The three story home loomed over her head, making her more nervous than she already was. She took a deep breath.

"I'll be okay." She told herself, trying to stay confident. She shakily knocked, and waited as Remus opened the door. When it did, her wolf rose up and almost forced Ceri into a prostrate position, his presence was so strong. An Omega wolf mated to a strong Beta, Ceri had always been submissive to Remus, but her years away had made her forget how strong he was.

"Ceri?" He gasped in surprise. She studied his face. The years had been kind to him, although his scars still shone brightly.

"Remus." She said nervously, baring her neck in a sign of submission. He reached out as if to draw her into a hug, but decided against it.

He ushered her inside and sat her down in an arm chair. She had cleaned up, but she still felt self-conscious. This man was still someone who commanded her attention, and she found herself once again drawn to him. He was her mate, something she hadn't valued when she was young, and something that was too late to claim now. Remus disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared soon after with a kettle of hot tea, two mugs, and sugar.

"How are you?" She blurted out, desperate to break the silence.

"I'm doing okay." He said tiredly. He turned his attention back to her.

"Ceri, where did you go?" He asked her after handing her a mug of tea, sweetened to her preferences.

"I was found by a wild pack, and joined them, but that is not why I am here." She paused and looked Remus in the eye, fighting every urge that told her to submit. Remus set down his mug and leaned forward from the chair across from her.

"Why are you here Ceri?" He sighed tiredly. "You left seventeen years ago. Why re-open these wounds?"

"Remus..." She started, tears gathering in her eyes.

He didn't let her finish. "No, Ceri! You betrayed me! You left me to break, and for what? Did you find what you wanted? No, or you wouldn't be here. Why did you finish the mating with me if you were going to leave me to find comfort in the arms of another man? Don't deny it. I can smell others on you. Some are your pack, but one shares your scent and another. That means kids, Ceri. You had kids with another man. Then you come running here with your tail between your legs. So what are you doing here?"

Ceri wiped at the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Remus, I am dying of _gywnn_ (trial by poisoning) and I have two sons." Remus looked away, growling under his breath. "Bryn is eleven, and with my mother right now. His father was Cayden Evans, a military man and a wolfblood." Remus's head snapped toward her, mouthing the name. It was a familiar one. Ceri continued. "Ryddian is seventeen. Remus, he's yours."


	2. Chapter 2

_"__Ryddian is seventeen. Remus, he's yours." _

Remus stood, sending his chair careening to the floor and looked out the window, his jaw tightening furiously. "Mine!? Ceri how? Why din't you tell me?" His voice was wounded and angry, a dangerous combination. She wiped at her eyes again in order to see him clearly, despite knowing he would never hurt her, even in his fury.

"Do you remember? That month before I went missing, we were together every night."_When we mated and become married in the eyes of all wolfbloods._ She didn't say. _Before I betrayed you._ Remus nodded tightly.

"You said you've undergone _gywnn_, and lost." Remus remembered. "You want me to arrange to have Ryddian, and you want me to do something for Bryn as well." He stated. It wasn't a question because he already knew the answer.

Ceri nodded reluctantly. "Yes." She admitted. "Ryddian deserves his father, and Bryn doesn't deserve to go back to Alric's pack. He's insane."

"Very well, Ceri. I want Ryddian. I've always wanted a family. Let me raise him, and I'll take Bryn. I'll treat them well, raise them as my own cubs."

Ceri slumped in relief at his words. "That's why I came, Remus." She reminded him. "Just so you know, Ryddian was taken by social services fifteen years ago, but you can find him, and raise him, and I have his birth certificate to give you legal claim. I may have been in the wild for seventeen years, but I remember how the human world works. I'm also going to draw up papers giving you sole custody of Bryn once I can find a dependable lawyer."

Remus was nodding. "I have some friends who will draw your papers, Ceri, and can get me custody of Ryddian without too much hassle." He picked up the phone next to Ceri and made a call, choosing to ignore how close Ceri was to him. She had her chance. _And she betrayed me. _He thought darkly. "Andi?... Yeah it's Remus... I need a favor... Can you get to my house to draw up some papers?... I know, but it's important... Yes... Yes... Ok... Yes... Goodbye." He hung up. The he faced Ceri.

"She'll be here soon. After these are drawn up, you'll do what?" He asked, concerned in spite of his anger. He had always loved Ceri, and always been loyal to her. He had only married Tonks because she'd seduced him while drunk. She'd been mortified to know why he hadn't pursued her, and when she found out she was carrying Teddy, they'd both married for the unborn child, an agreement between them to never have intimacy again. Remus still loved Ceri, and was still loyal to her.

"There are still things I need to do before I pass. I need to make things right with my parents, and I need to find Cayden's family and tell them about Bryn. They should at least know he exists."

"Of course." A car drove up outside.

"That's your friend?"

"Yes, she is a lawyer, and aware of the wolfbloods, so she'll get me custody without hassle. Make yourself comfortable, while I go and grab Bryn from your parents." She stopped him with a hand.

"Remus who is the Alpha here?" She questioned.

"Davis Mestin, but it doesn't matter because I am moving. You caught me at a good time. Today is my last day here. My godson and his mate are both seventeen, and I am joining them. Bryn and Ryddian will be a welcome addition to their pack." He explained to the worried mother in Ceri.

"Very well. You are confident in the wolfblood who will be their Alpha though?"

"Of course Ceri. Your sons will not deal with anything barbaric like _gywnn_. I promise." He vowed. She smiled weakly at him, and moved her head to the door.

"Go get the door and Bryn, Remus. I'll be fine."

Ceri waited in the living room as an older woman, in her mid sixties, entered the room with a briefcase in one hand and a baby in the other. She gasped when she saw Ceri.

"Oh, my!" She sat down across from her. "You must be Ceri Morris. I've heard all about you! Remus has been utterly devoted to you for the last seventeen years. Even when he was forced into a marriage, he never touched another woman willingly. You're lucky to have him."

Ceri looked away in guilt. She had been unfaithful, and Remus had never been anything other than faithful. At least now he would be free to find another wolfblood. If she wasn't dying, she would try to stay with him. "My own daughter got him drunk." The woman continued. "She seduced him and got pregnant. He married her and never touched her again. He slept in another room. She died six months ago."

"I'm sorry." Ceri said distantly, stricken by the amount of faithfulness Remus had shown. She examined the baby in interest. "Is this his child?"

"Yes." She said smiling. "This is Teddy." Ceri reached out in sadness and took hold of the child. She kissed his fuzzy head, and allowed a few tears to leak out of her eyes, before wiping her eyes and returning Teddy to his grandmother.

"Remus is fetching my boy from my parent's house. I'm signing guardianship over to him. I'm dying." Ceri was honest with the woman. "My son isn't Remus's. I sought comfort in the arms of other men. I don't deserve Remus. He has been faithful to me, and I was not. If I was to do it over again, I would choose Remus, but I can't. I'm sorry. If I wasn't dying, I would stay here and spend the rest of my life trying to atone for what I've done, but I am dying, and Remus doesn't deserve that either, because I know the bond means he will still love and care for me for as long as I live. I'll disappear, and I'll die in peace, leaving him free to be with another without guilt."

The elder woman set Teddy in the next room and sat Ceri down. "Sweetheart, don't you think he deserves to make that decision?"

Ceri sighed. "Probably, but one more bad decision can't really do any more damage. I cheated. That's the worst thing you can do as a wolfblood. I don't deserve a second chance, and I don't want him giving me one because he feels sorry for me."

"Alright. I won't try to change your mind. I don't understand wolfblood matings. I'll make this custody thing as fast as possible, and then I'll keep an eye on your boys. If anything happens to Remus, he has his godson, Harry Potter, as a guardian for Teddy, and I'll list Ryddian and Bryn on that list of dependents as well. Is that ok?"

"Yes, thank you..." She trailed off as she realized she didn't know the woman's name.

"Andromeda Tonks. Just call me Andi, dear." The woman said with a motherly smile.

"Andi." Ceri finished.


End file.
